This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
1. Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates to a multiple use ambulatory device that can be configured for multiple uses in the care of medical patients who need ambulatory assistance.
2. Background of the Technology
In the medical industry there are often occasions where patients are unable to walk or move about without some type of ambulatory assistance. The type of actual mobility impairment varies with the medical condition of any single patient. In some cases, the impairment may be permanent as a result to bodily damage caused by disease or injury. In other cases, the impairment may be long term, but temporary. In that situation, the need for ambulatory assistance can change as the patient recovers. In yet other cases, the impairment of a patient can be better or worse on almost a daily basis. In those cases, a patient may not be able to get out of bed one day, but be able to barely walk with great assistance the next day, only to be able to walk with little assistance on the following day. Then, due to the specific condition that patient may have, the patient relapses into a less mobile state and may again need a wheelchair simply to be moved from place to place.
Currently, the most prevalent type of ambulatory assistance is in the form of a “walker.” Walkers of this type generally have two side frames and a front frame connected together to form a horizontal U-shaped tubular frame. The patient stands erect within the U-shape and moves forward by means of wheels that are mounted to the bottom of some of the frame's tubular structure. In some cases, wheels are mounted to one part of the frame and rubber feet that provide gripping assistance to a floor covering may be mounted onto other parts of the tubular frame. To assist in the stopping of the walker when it is in motion, a set of hand brakes are normally mounted on the frame in a position that makes the activation of the hand brake by the patient convenient and safe.
Although helpful when the patient can stand and walk with the assistance of the walker, if the patient must rest upon the seat, the patient will suddenly be facing in the opposite direction from that in which the patient had originally been proceeding. More importantly, it is extremely difficult to transport the patient in any direction because once the patient is seated on the walker seat, the walker cannot be moved.
If the patient is able to get out of bed, but is unable to stand, the patient must be moved with a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are normally equipped with hand grips on the back of the chair for use by a care giver to push or pull the wheelchair to transport the patient to different locations. Unfortunately, the standard wheelchair cannot be adapted to function as a walker if the patient is capable of standing and perhaps walking with the assistance of a walker.
When a seat is included in the design of the current walker devices, the seat is mounted onto the walker in a position that is directly in front of the patient as the patient is walking forward using the walker. The apparent purpose of such seats is to provide the patient with the capability of sitting on the seat when the patient gets tired or is unable to continue walking with the walker. That seat location, however, is of no benefit to a patient who has lost balance and is falling backward away from the walker. In that situation, the patient will fall backward onto the floor and could easily suffer additional injury.
What is needed is a three-in-one type multiple use walker that can be adapted to provide: (1) a seat behind the patient when the patient is walking in order to catch the patient if the patient falls backward, (2) a wheelchair configuration for use by the patient when the patient can move, but is not able to stand, and (3) a walker that can be used by a patient that has better ability to stand and remain balanced without the need for catching the patient in the event of a fall backward from the walker.